Current Projects |
Dereck and Beverly Joubert are award-winning filmmakers from Botswana, with five Emmys and a Peabody to their names. Their mission is the conservation and understanding of the large predators and key African wildlife species that determine the course of all conservation in Africa. They have been filming, researching and exploring in Africa for over 25 years. Their coverage of unique predator behavior has resulted in 20 films, six books, and many articles for National Geographic magazine.
The Jouberts co-produce all of their films. Dereck directs, films, and writes the scripts; Beverly produces and records sound. Beverly Joubert also is an acclaimed photographer, and many of her photographs appear in National Geographic magazine. Filmmaking for them has always been a way to bring the message of conservation to audiences.
In the year the Jouberts spent as National Geographic explorers-in-residence, they were a force of nature themselves, producing two films, two books, and two magazine articles for National Geographic and winning a Panda award in the United Kingdom in October. Their National Geographic Live! talks are always sold-out appearances. But it is the expansion of the ecotourism/community partnerships via their new company, Great Plains, that has had the most dramatic advances this past year.
It is the Jouberts' belief that while some areas need the wilderness to be maintained in isolation, other areas will disappear unless viable, extremely light ecological-footprint (low volume, high cost) benefits are generated for communities. This year 848 square miles (1,365 square kilometers) of Botswana and a cluster of three islands in the Seychelles were included in their portfolio. Both projects aim to rehabilitate the environment and return these vast tracts of land to nature.
